The Wii Fit is going to be a game changer. 
Mine arrived last week and already I can see that this little game has the potential to change how people view staying fit and healthy. The reasons are simple:
- Fun…Easy as that: Motivation to keep going has always been the biggest barrier to overcome with exercise. Wii Fit takes care of that hurdle by making exercise not seem like exercise at all (kinda like Dance Dance Revolution a few years ago).
- Measureability and Accountability: The key to a good exercise routine is tracking your progress. I’ve never been able to get myself to do that. But Wii Fit takes care of it for me with the Daily Body Tests. Now I know how I am doing and it calls me out if I skip a day
- Education: When most of us start exercising, we don’t consult a personal trainer (or even a doctor for that matter). Wii Fit recognizes that and builds education and correction into the game. It tells you that your body weight can fluctuate throughout the day so you should do your test at the same time. And it corrects your posture in yoga so you are doing the exercises the way you were meant to (a real yoga teacher cant even do that!).
- Challenges: Humans are competitive by nature, especially anyone that grew up playing video games. We want to get the high score, unlock the next game, etc. Wii Fit recognizes this and rewards you by giving you new games and workouts the more you play. I watched my girlfiend play it for over 2 hours the other night just because she was getting so excited about each game she unlocked. That is real motivation for exercise!
I just wonder how long it will be before people recognize this potential. When will the first school order a few Wii Fits for their PE class? Or when will the first gym create a Wii Fit class (or even, when will the first Wii Fit gym open)? And will brands try to leverage the power of Wii Fit like Nike did with the iPod for Nike +? The opportunities are endless. The trend of consumers wanting a healthy lifestyle isnt going away and Nintendo of all people just made it that much easier for them to live just a little bit better.
Hard Knox Life is the blog of Dave Knox, a classic CPG Brand Manager. It is about marketing, media & technology and how those forces are changing the job of a Brand Manager.
Hard Knox Life: A Brand Manager Blog by Dave Knox 
What a great way to provide a consumer experience, and also target a growing challenge in our society. It has arrived at this, utilizing video games to inspire fitness. Guess you do what you have to do, and what a ‘win-win-win’. Video games, fitness, and fun.
I feel the cost of the units and games discriminates a large majority of consumers, espcecially youth in poverty, inner city, and other obvious locations that cannot afford such items. They’ll become the true stories of overcoming adversity, a “Horatio Alger” story, through persistence and hard work. Wonder what they’re doing and how they will create options for lower income families to have access to these innovative products.
It will be a matter of time before someone sues these companies when they twist their ankle playing “Dance Revolution” or Wii’s ‘Boxing/Bowling” etc. It would be a great idea as you mentioned to engage youth in learning about fitness, working out, getting in shape, and having fun with video games. They surely would become more passionate about it. You focused on ‘Teen Marketing’ for some time, what are your thoughts?
I forsee synergy with Nike, iPod, Wii, and others to build their brands and awareness from simple things from music specific entities providing songs for the games, product placement on characters in games, and other innovative ‘consumer connectivity’. I agree, lots of opportunity in our “Information Age”, as well as making exercise fun.
Dave – my daughter’s school has Wii’s for PE. Sadly it seems they play baseball…. Centerport, NY school K-2. I only hope they get the Wii Fit or that they start playing tennis or boxing (which really do get the heart pumping.)